The invention relates to a method and apparatus for feeding conductor plates into a conductor plate tester.
In producing printed circuits, the electronics industry uses conductor plates into which individual component parts are soldered, so that a finished circuit is obtained. Prior to complementing the conductor plates with component parts, the conductor plates must be examined as to their capability to function. This is done with conductor plate testers which test the conductor plate as to interrupter defects in the individual lines and as to an offset between contact eyes and contact holes, as well as for faulty insulation. For this purpose, the conductor plates are introduced successively from a stockpile into the actual tester.
In the case of the hitherto-known conductor plate testers, the individual conductor plates are transported on a horizontal conveying path from the feeder over the test section up to the sorting device in which the conductor plates are sorted out as to defects. The individual conductor plates may be moved out of the stockpile, for example, by a slide. For structural reasons, the slide is as a rule not capable of moving the conductor plates over long distances, for example, all the way from the feeder to the test section; therefore, it is necessary with the known instruments to move at least two adjacent conductor plates at once, the slide engaging the rear plate which, in turn engages the forward plate, each cycle thereby moving the forward plate into the next test position. This structure requires a relatively expensive transport mechanism, as well as an expensive positioning mechanism. Further, this type of feeder device is relatively long, since at least two of the longest conductor plates which are to be tested must be moved one ahead of the other.
An important object of the invention is to provide a simpler apparatus and method by which the conductor plates can be moved over the transport path one at a time into the individual testing stations.